Mornings and Promises
Who: Chase and Vic Setting: Chase's Apartment
Vic hadn’t expected to stay there but by the time he’d calmed down, he was exhausted and Chase had offered to let him stay. And honestly, the last thing he wanted to do right now was go back to the tent and feel the anger in the air. So he’d stayed wrapped up in the warm, soft blankets of Chase’s studio bed, with the soft amber-pink lights lulling him into a deep sleep.
He stayed there, completely immobile, throughout the night. Typically he tossed and turned, woke up several times to adjust his leg and try to keep it from seizing up on him. This time, when he woke it was naturally and he could feel the ease in his leg nearly immediately. It wasn’t tight or sore or cold. He blinked his sleepy eyes open and thought long and hard for a moment about even getting up, because he was sure this was a dream. If he got up, the dream had to end, right?
Chase had let Vic sleep, then picked up the apartment, tucking the food away. He re-folded Vic’s new things, then set them on the couch for him, then went to bed in his room. He was still going back and forth about the whole thing, what he was doing, what it meant, but eventually he wore himself out and fell asleep. He woke to a quiet, but he knew he wasn’t alone. He couldn’t ignore that. Instead he got up, threw on some comfortable clothes and headed towards the studio. He leaned in the doorway, looking at Vic there, smiling at him. “How’d you sleep?” he asked.
When Chase peeked in, Vic had just finished snuggling back into the bed, figuring he would just stay there until he knew Chase was awake. But then there he was, smiling at Vic from the doorway, and Vic felt such a new warmth in his stomach that he couldn’t help but beam back. “I’m pretty sure I’ve never slept better in my whole life.” Which he wasn’t ready to investigate yet. He didn’t want to think about the fight he’d had with Vaughn about getting a warm, safe place to stay. He just wanted to be in this warm, safe place. “How about you? I didn’t keep you up? Usually toss and turn a lot…”
“Good,” Chase said, smiling again and moving into the room to sit next to Vic. He looked around the bed and shook his head. “I’m pretty sure you didn’t even move.” The blankets had barely shifted from where they’d been when Vic fell asleep. “You didn’t keep me up. Promise.” Not exactly true, but it wasn’t because Vic was moving around.
He wouldn’t say this out loud but he liked this room even more when Chase was sitting there next to him. He looked around the bed a bit, as much as he could without really moving, and then let his head fall back onto the pillows. “I guess I didn’t move. Weird. I’m always waking up and shifting around.” Finally, he pushed up on his elbows and settled into a seated position close to Chase. “Thanks for letting me crash. It’s...really nice here.”
Chase figured it had something to do with the situation Vic usually slept in, but he kept that to himself. “You were probably comfortable.” He reached out and ran a hand over Vic’s hurt let. “It is. I like it. It’s not a bad way to live,” he hinted, hoping Vic got it.
Vic tilted his head a little, sure that he couldn’t hide the way Chase’s words settled into his eyes and darkened them. He wanted to stay in this little bubble for as long as he could without really thinking about the issues back home but now his mind was there and he hated it. He didn’t want to feel this way. Instead he tried to focus on Chase’s hand on his leg. “Seems like a nice way to live. But how would I keep my edge?” He asked, trying to tease his way out of more sentimental talk.
Chase chuckled and shrugged a shoulder. He leaned in and kissed him, gently licking along Vic’s lower lip. “I’ve seen you naked. Trust me, you’ll still have your edge.” He smiled and pressed his forehead against Vic’s for a moment, then pulled back. “Want breakfast?”
Now Vic was sure this wasn’t real life. He gave a soft, uninhibited sound into Chase’s mouth and followed him as the kiss let up, desperate for more already. Then Chase’s head pressed against his and it was all he wanted in the world to stay here in bed with him. Until he mentioned breakfast, and he grew torn. “...Breakfast means we have to get up.”
Chase laughed and pushed at the blankets, making space for himself. “We don’t have to get up?” he teased. “I just thought you’d be hungry. We can do other things. Or maybe you’re hungry for something else.”
When Chase moved to join him, Vic lit up with a beaming smile and helped push the covers aside to make room. “I’d rather stay here with you,” He answered honestly. He was right. Vic was hungry for more than breakfast and he just couldn’t wait any longer. Vic leaned in once Chase was settled, reached up for Chase’s neck and drew him into a deep kiss.
This wasn’t work anymore was it? Chase had to wonder, but how could he think about anything other than Vic kissing him. He let himself get pulled farther into the kiss, drawing Vic up against him. “Would you? You don’t have to leave any time soon,” he murmured. Because how did he send a guy who was clearly hurting, physically in pain, back to that place that would turn on him in a moment?
That was about the last thing Vic had expected to hear. He’d thought they’d established that this was just for work, despite how desperately he wanted to stay put in Chase’s home every time they finished a scene. All he wanted to do was be here, safe and warm and comforted, and now he was actually getting that offer. He could feel Chase’s lips move against his with the offer and he felt his heart leap in his chest. “You would want that?” He asked, hating that those were the first words out of his mouth. He wanted to just yell affirmations, but he needed to be sure. He couldn’t lose this and if that meant he had to go home now, he would do it even if he didn’t want to.
Chase bit his lip, watching Vic for a long moment before shrugging. “Yeah, I do,” he said. “I’d be horrible if I sent you back there, wouldn’t I?” he added. He brushed at Vic’s hair, then leaned in to kiss his forehead. “I don’t want you to get hurt. To be unhappy. No one should have to do that.”
That was the longest moment of Vic’s life. He was sure that Chase was going to change his mind, to take the out he was given and send Vic on his way. But he didn’t. Instead he doubled down and Vic felt a tightness start in his throat again. He’d thought he’d cried this all out last night on this bed, but apparently not. Just that simple, sweet kiss to Vic’s forehead had his eyes welling up again and Vic sniffled as he tried to keep it together. “Okay,” He managed to get out.
“Come on,” Chase murmured. “Let’s get you food.” He wouldn’t let those people bring down another boy, force him to find his way on his own as he suffered because of their dumb rules and loyalty to nothing.
“Do we have to?” Vic asked, willing to go with Chase if the bed was becoming somewhere too much but he didn’t want to. He wanted to stay here, wrapped up in Chase’s arms and the blankets and the soft light of the filming room. He wanted to learn the rhythm of Chase’s heartbeat and his breathing and…
Yeah, maybe they needed to get up.
“Yes,” Chase said, pulling back and pulling Chase with him. “We do. You need to eat because I need you to get your energy up for what I want to do to you.” He leaned in and kissed him again. “You’re too skinny.”
That sparked Vic back to a happy place again, somewhere lighter and more mischievous than before. He settled on his feet and understood for the first time that morning just how different his leg felt. He didn’t even feel like he needed to stretch it or limp at all. It was miraculous. So he launched at Chase again and kissed him back, teeth nipping at his bottom lip before he pulled back. “Are we cooking breakfast?”
Chase almost fell back, but let himself catch Vic, kissing him and nodding. “Might as well. It’s about all I can cook.” He pulled back just a little to start walking backwards, pulling Vic with him.
Vic followed, hand in Chase’s and heart so full. “Will you teach me? I don’t know how to cook, well...anything really.”
Chase laughed a little and nodded. “Well, then yeah, gotta teach you how to take care of yourself. And these days, cooking’s easy.” It was all pre-fab’d, set up so there was little to do other than follow the instructions that came in the boxes.
“Yeah, mostly I just order stuff when I can. You know how tents are for cooking.” When they got into the kitchen, Vic just stood to the side of the doorframe and observed it. To people who lived in actual buildings, the kitchen might seem small but to Vic it was massive. And state-of-the-art. Everything looked pristine and shiny and he felt a lot like he shouldn’t even be stepping into the kitchen. “Woah.”
Chase looked up, then around the little kitchen and shrugged. There were a few things that were models behind, but he kept everything as clean as it could get so it all looked new a lot longer than it actually was. Plus, he could reach from one end of it to the other with his hands outstretched. “It’s not that nice. You should see some of my clients.”
“Don’t care about the clients’ houses. This is…” He trailed off, smiling more as he reached out to run his fingers over some of the surfaces. “It’s really amazing in here, Chase. I think you’re forgetting how amazing your place is.” For someone from the park, for someone who lived in a tent most of the time, just the fact that Chase had food storage that wasn’t on the ground was pretty earth-shattering. “Think about it from when you first got this place.”
Chase shrugged. “This wasn’t my first place out of the park. It wasn’t my first place off the ground, or even what I wanted until recently. Feels like it was this gentle progression from nothing to something.”
“Isn’t there some little part of you that still looks at this place and is like, ‘damn. I did this.’?” Vic asked, stepping closer to Chase to reach up and give a tiny poke to the side of his head. “Are you sure you still have the right perspective here?”
Chase looked around and nodded. “All the time. I know it could go away too and I’d be back in that damn squat house with all those other kids hooking on the street,” he said, turning to look at Vic. “But, this, it’s just stuff. What’s it mean anyway? My parents and their clan had the nicest tents in the park and they were assholes.”
He didn’t like that image. Chase deserved soft things, warm things, the very best of everything. The image of him in a dirty squat house didn’t fit. Vic turned toward him and moved closer, pushing against Chase’s hips to get him pressed up between the counter and Vic. He wanted to tell him that this would stay. That nothing had the chance of going away and that he would always have this safe, comfortable home to be in. But he knew better than to spread that lie. Instead, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to Chase’s forehead. “You’d find a way not to live like that again. I’d help.”
Chase huffed a bit of a noise. “Would you now?” They were in too deep. He should put a stop to this, but there was something reassuring about the pressure on his hips from Vic’s hands. And the self assuredness, that everything would just be okay, just like that. It was enough to make Chase almost believe him.
“Of course I would,” Vic said softly, smiling at Chase as he reached around to run his fingertips over Chase’s back. “But we don’t have to think about that right now. We haven’t even had our breakfast yet,” He said, his voice light with a little tease in it. “Teach me how to cook?”
Chase felt his eyes flutter, just a little, at that touch. He let them fall shut and nodded, smirking slightly before shifting to to his refrigerator. “I’m not that good at it,” he said, smiling and grabbing some egg whites and soy cheese to set them on the counter. “But I can make scrambled eggs and bacon.”
Vic filed that face away in his mind and forced himself to focus on breakfast. Breakfast, or they’d never eat. “Sounds pretty damn good to me,” He said, pushing up the sleeves on his sweater. “Let’s do this.”